| This study investigated the intergenerational cultural distance experienced by Chinese youth from immigrant families, and its consequences for adolescents' adjustment. Intergenerational cultural distance was assessed as the mismatch between adolescents' ideals and perceptions of parent-adolescent relationship (i.e., warmth and open communication). The extent and consequences of such mismatches for these youth were also compared to European American youth---who likely did not experience such distance. Moreover, the study examined whether the youth's appreciation of Chinese parent-adolescent relationships (i.e., parental devotion, thoughtfulness, and guan) would moderate the relationship between discrepancies and on youth's psychological adjustment, and whether this moderation effect would be stronger for Chinese than European American youth. Finally, qualitative interviews were conducted with a sub-sample of Chinese American youth to supplement the survey study with a more in-depth understanding of Chinese parent-adolescent relationships. Two hundred forty-nine Chinese American adolescents (95 first-generation and 154 second-generation) and 385 European American adolescents completed measures of parental warmth, parent-adolescent open communication, Chinese parent-adolescent relationship, and psychological adjustment. Both first- and second-generation Chinese American adolescents' ideals exceeded their perceptions of parents' warmth and open communication to a greater degree than it did for European American adolescents. Moreover, such discrepancies were related to greater adjustment problems for Chinese American youth, second-generation in particular. In addition, the U.S.-born Chinese youth's perceptions of Chinese parent-child relationships, particularly parents' devotion and sacrifice, had stronger moderating effects, diminishing the negative consequences of cultural distance on their behavioral adjustment, compared to European Americans'. Parental thoughtfulness also played such a beneficial role, but did so for all the youth. The findings of the qualitative interviews indicated the relevance of parental devotion and thoughtfulness in fostering a close and loving Chinese parent-adolescent relationship, described by the notion of qin. The Chinese youth also highlighted their reciprocating role in their descriptions of qin. |
